Chapter 2—Planning Business Messages

1. Which of the following represents a goal for business writers?

a. You should concentrate on your feelings in business messages.

b. You should get your audience to believe and accept your ideas.
c. You should create messages that are lengthy to demonstrate your superior
intellect and
language skills.
d. You should write business messages from your perspective.

2. When preparing a business message, you should make your writing audience

oriented. Audience oriented means you should

a. write to solve a problem or convey information.
b. attempt to get your audience to believe and accept your
message.
c. present ideas clearly but concisely.
d. concentrate on looking at the problem from the receiver's
perspective.

3. Business writing should be purposeful. In this context purposeful can best be defined

as
a. presenting ideas clearly and concisely.
b. concentrating on the receiver's perspective instead of
your own.
c. solving problems and conveying information.
d. getting your audience to believe and accept your
message.

4. Business writing should be economical. In this context economical can best be defined

as
a. presenting ideas clearly and concisely.
b. concentrating on the receiver's perspective instead of
your own.
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 c. solving problems and conveying information.
d. getting your audience to believe and accept your
message.

5. Business writing should be persuasive. In this context persuasive can best be defined

as
a. presenting ideas clearly and concisely.
b. concentrating on the receiver's perspective instead of
your own.
c. solving problems and conveying information.
d. getting your audience to believe and accept your
message.

6. The first phase of the writing process involves analyzing the audience and your

purpose for writing, anticipating your audience' reaction to your message, and
a. investigating background information.
b. composing your message.
c. adapting your message to the audience.
d. looking for previous company documents on
the topic.

7. Adapting your message to the audience involves

a. thinking of the right words and tone to use in your

message.
b. rewriting your message several times to ensure it is
clear.
c. selecting the best research to incorporate within the
message.
d. conducting a thorough audience analysis.

8. During the second phase of the writing process, you conduct research,

a. clarify the audience demographics, and edit word

choices.
b. anticipate audience reaction, and adapt the

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 message.
c. organize ideas, and compose the message.
d. evaluate message effectiveness, and revise as
needed.

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 9. In the final phase of the writing process, check the message for clarity and

readability, proofread for errors, and

a. evaluate for effectiveness.
b. assess the cost in the selected delivery
channel.
c. solve the problem.
d. forward the document to the publishing
department.

10. Experts say that writers should spend the most time in the stage of the writing
process.
a. prewriting
b. writing
c. revising
d. transmissi
on

11. The primary purpose of business writing is typically to inform or persuade; a

common secondary purpose is to

a. promote goodwill.
b. comply with governmental
regulations.
c. create written documentation.
d. avoid lawsuits.

12. Before Melissa organizes and composes her message, she should ask two

questions: (1) Why am I sending this message? and (2)

a. Why did my boss give this task to me?
b. What do I hope to achieve with this message?
c. How can I get this message written as quickly as possible?
d. Do I have enough time and financial resources to complete
the work?

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13. Edward must determine the appropriate channel for an important business message. In

this context
channel refers to the
a. individuals who will receive the message.
b. degree of formality required.
c. medium through which the message is sent.
d. tone and approach needed to accomplish his
purpose.

14. You are selecting a channel for sending your message. Which of the following

is not a factor to consider when making this decision?

a. Amount and speed of feedback and interactivity
required
b. Cost of the channel
c. Confidentiality and sensitivity of the message
d. Your competitors' channel use

15. Which of the following communication channels is considered the richest medium?

a. Written proposal
b. E-mail message
c. Face-to-face
conversation
d. Blog posting

16. Human Resources Manager Claire Siu must inform Anthony that company job

changes will require him to seek retraining or lose his position. The best channel for
Ms. Siu to deliver this message is
a. an e-mail message.
b. face-to-face
communication.
c. voice mail.
d. an instant message.

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17. Michael usually holds team meetings on Tuesday mornings, but he needs to

reschedule next week's meeting to Wednesday morning. To tell team members of

the date change for the next meeting, Michael should
a. send an e-mail.
b. meet in person with each team
member.
c. call a team meeting.
d. write a short team report.

18. What communication channel would be most appropriate to deliver data to a customer?

a. Business letter
b. E-mail
c. Report or
proposal
d. Memorandum

19. What communication channel would be most appropriate when you must share

digital information with other members of your work team?

a. Wiki
b. E-mail
c. Fax
d. Instant
message

20. What communication channel would be most appropriate when a written record

or formality is required?
a. Report or
proposal
b. Letter
c. E-mail
d. Blog
21. What is the preferred channel choice for today's corporate communicators?

a. Memos

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 b. Letters
c. E-mail
d. Instant
messaging

22. Lindsay is writing a property description for a new real estate brochure. To make

her brochure more effective, Lindsay should anticipate her audience. This means she
a. identifies the property's outstanding traits and describes them
clearly.
b. concentrates on the price and value of the property.
c. writes using familiar words and a friendly, informal tone.
d. considers what the readers are like and how they will react to
the message.

23. Profiling the audience for a business message helps the writer

a. identify the appropriate tone, language, and channel.

b. guarantee that the audience will respond positively to
the message.
c. select slang and jargon the audience will recognize and
appreciate.
d. create a perfect first draft.

24. What question should you ask to visualize your audience?

a. What position does the person hold in the organization?

b. Do I need to include more background information?
c. Should I expect a neutral, positive, or negative response to my
message?
d. All answer choices are questions you should ask to visualize
your audience.

25. What is the primary way tone is conveyed through a business message?

a. Sentence structure
b. Language choice
c. Document design and
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layout

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 d. Sentence
length

26. One technique that improves business writing is the use of empathy. Empathy refers to

a. using inclusive language to eliminate bias.

b. putting yourself in the receiver's shoes to adapt the message to the
receiver's needs.
c. appealing to the audience by using a sender focus.
d. formatting documents to meet business standards.

27. Which of the following sentences best focuses on the audience?

a. We are very pleased to have you as our newest

customer.
b. You can help us by sending us your payment
immediately.
c. Register now to lock in your preferred travel dates.
d. All sentences are focused on the audience rather than
the sender.
28. Debbie must inform Janice that she is not eligible to have an August vacation for

which she recently applied. Which of the following sentences best demonstrates the
"you" view Debbie should use in denying Janice’s application?
a. I have not approved your August vacation because you applied too late.
b. We didn't receive your application early enough for the August vacation
schedule.
c. Although the August vacation schedule is full, you may qualify for a vacation
in September
if you apply now.
d. The August vacation schedule was posted in May. You should have consulted
it earlier.
29. Business messages should be conversational, professional, positive, and

a. long.
b. courteous.
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 c. written from the sender's
perspective.
d. filled with many common
abbreviations.

30. Create a conversational but professional tone in letters, e-mail messages, instant

messages, and memos by

a. choosing a clear format and effective document layout.
b. using emoticons.
c. using familiar words, occasional contractions, and pronouns such
as you and I.
d. using slang and abbreviations such as IMHO and BTW.

31. Marketing Director Kiprova will inform the board of directors that customers are

not responding positively to the company's Paris Hilton ads. Which of the
following is the most appropriate announcement?
a. Our customers are ripping on our Paris Hilton ads, even though we know
these ads rock.
b. Our customers are badmouthing this awesome new marketing campaign;
they are
obviously just out of it.
c. At the meeting you will receive reports on recent customer criticism of the
new Paris Hilton ads.
d. It has come to my attention that our customers have denigrated our
strategic implementation of Paris Hilton's notoriety in our novel ad
campaign.
32. Which of the following sentences demonstrates effective business writing?

a. Hey, Bob. Ur proposal is rad!

b. Your proposal demonstrates how our call center can better meet the
needs of our customers.
c. FYI, i liked your proposal :).
d. Congrats on the proposal. You rock!
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33. Which of the following sentences demonstrates effective business writing?

a. As per your request, enclosed is our latest

catalog.
b. Enclosed is our latest catalog.
c. The latest catalog is contained under
separate cover.

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 d. Pertaining to your request, our latest catalog is
enclosed.

34. Which of the following sentences demonstrates conversational business writing?

a. Your return policy really ticks me off.

b. I am upset about your return policy.
c. Your return policy has provoked me to write this
letter.
d. All answer choices reflect conversational
business writing.

35. As employees use instant messaging to conduct more business, they should send

messages that are informal, conversational, and

a. professional.
b. streamlined (e.g., using abbreviations such as ur for
you are).
c. casual, including low-level language.
d. filled with slang and jargon.

COMPLETION

1. During the phase of the writing process, the writer analyzes the
audience and the purpose for writing.
2. Sam is collecting and organizing information for a marketing report he is writing.

Sam is involved in the second phase of the writing process, which is the phase.

3. Catherine is proofreading her cover letter and résumé for accuracy before e-

mailing them to a prospective employer. She is in the third phase of the writing
process, which is the
phase.

4. An interesting theory called richness describes the extent to which a

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 channel or medium recreates or represents all the information available in the original
message.

5. The channel of choice for corporate communicators today is clearly .

6. is the process of creating a message that suits your audience.

One important aspect of this process is tone. Conveyed largely by the words in a
message, tone affects how a receiver feels after reading or hearing a message.

7. Conveyed largely by the words in a message, affects how a receiver

feels after reading or hearing a message.

8. Theresa has emphasized second-person pronouns (you, your) instead of first-person

pronouns (I/we, us, our) in a letter to a customer. She is using the view.

9. describes technical or specialized terms within a field.

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